to your HTML
Add class="sortable" to any table you'd like to make sortable
Click on the headers to sort
Thanks to many, many people for contributions and suggestions.
Licenced as X11: http://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/licence.html
This basically means: do what you want with it.
*/
var stIsIE = /*@cc_on!@*/false;
sorttable = {
init: function() {
// quit if this function has already been called
if (arguments.callee.done) return;
// flag this function so we don't do the same thing twice
arguments.callee.done = true;
// kill the timer
if (_timer) clearInterval(_timer);
if (!document.createElement || !document.getElementsByTagName) return;
sorttable.DATE_RE = /^(\d\d?)[\/\.-](\d\d?)[\/\.-]((\d\d)?\d\d)$/;
forEach(document.getElementsByTagName('table'), function(table) {
if (table.className.search(/\bsortable\b/) != -1) {
sorttable.makeSortable(table);
}
});
},
makeSortable: function(table) {
if (table.getElementsByTagName('thead').length == 0) {
// table doesn't have a tHead. Since it should have, create one and
// put the first table row in it.
the = document.createElement('thead');
the.appendChild(table.rows[0]);
table.insertBefore(the,table.firstChild);
}
// Safari doesn't support table.tHead, sigh
if (table.tHead == null) table.tHead = table.getElementsByTagName('thead')[0];
if (table.tHead.rows.length != 1) return; // can't cope with two header rows
// Sorttable v1 put rows with a class of "sortbottom" at the bottom (as
// "total" rows, for example). This is B&R, since what you're supposed
// to do is put them in a tfoot. So, if there are sortbottom rows,
// for backwards compatibility, move them to tfoot (creating it if needed).
sortbottomrows = [];
for (var i=0; i

What is the cost to individuals of doing nothing when it comes to Social Security? Despite all the smoke and fury being directed toward the President's plan by reform opponents, the truth is that Social Security retirement benefits will be drastically reduced in the future even if reform opponents get their way and no reform occurs. The question for future recipients: How much will they lose?

Somewhat Misleading

The chart is misleading in that it suggests that nothing is wrong with the system prior to 2042, when Social Security's Old Age and Survivor's Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be fully depleted. In reality, this sudden drop in the benefits that Social Security can provide does not happen overnight. The following chart shows a linear approximation of the level of benefits that the program can provide based upon its cash flow after 2017, when the revenues coming into Social Security from taxes will equal the benefits promised to be paid out, in addition to the level of benefits that may be paid out by tapping the program's trust fund:

Click image for a larger version.

The chart also underscores the increasing degree to which Social Security's retirement benefit trust fund will be tapped to support retirement benefits at their currently promised level. Without reform, the benefit cuts will be across the board, affecting all recipients, rich and poor alike. For low lifetime income earners, the looming cuts will be particularly harsh as many rely upon Social Security for a significant portion of their income in retirement. The following calculator may be used to approximate the level of retirement benefits that Social Security may provide based solely upon its cash flow as well as the combination of cash flow and trust fund for a given year.

Year Data

Input Data

Values

Calendar Year

Percentage of Benefits Able to Be Paid

Calculated Results

Percentages

Cash Flow + Trust Fund

Cash Flow Only

Who Really Cares?

As noted by New York Times' op-ed columnist John Tierney in his April 30, 2005 column "Bush as Robin Hood," the President's proposed actuarial reform of progressively indexing benefits for middle and upper income earners while keeping Social Security benefits at their promised levels for low income earners has called the bluff of reform opponents:

By proposing to shore up the system while protecting low-income workers, Mr. Bush raised a supremely awkward question for Democrats: which party really cares about the poor?

It's certainly not as if they don't know that the poor will bear the greatest burden in having their future Social Security benefits cut - the data published by EPI clearly shows that reform opponents know what will happen. Their rhetoric also indicates they know fully well which income group will be hurt the most. Tierney concludes his comments with the following statement about the reform opponents:

They know that Social Security doesn't even have the money to sustain a program that leaves millions of elderly people in poverty. But it's their system, and they're sticking to it.

They just don't care. They might have once, but I believe their growing reliance upon special interests and billionaires with special interests for funding (see this chart from the Center for Public Integrity's 2004 report on U.S. party campaign fundraising) has left any real compassion on their part for the poor on the wayside.

Welcome to the blogosphere's toolchest! Here, unlike other blogs dedicated to analyzing current events, we create easy-to-use, simple tools to do the math related to them so you can get in on the action too! If you would like to learn more about these tools, or if you would like to contribute ideas to develop for this blog, please e-mail us at:

Materials on this website are published by Political Calculations to provide visitors with free information and insights regarding the incentives created by the laws and policies described. However, this website is not designed for the purpose of providing legal, medical or financial advice to individuals. Visitors should not rely upon information on this website as a substitute for personal legal, medical or financial advice. While we make every effort to provide accurate website information, laws can change and inaccuracies happen despite our best efforts. If you have an individual problem, you should seek advice from a licensed professional in your state, i.e., by a competent authority with specialized knowledge who can apply it to the particular circumstances of your case.